JP3077343B2 - Ultrasound diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a puncture needle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the medical field, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used for observing a tissue or a blood flow dynamic in a living body. Generally, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus mainly includes an ultrasonic probe (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “probe”) for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic beam to and from an observation site in a living body, and a diagnostic apparatus main body to which the probe is connected. Have been. In such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a puncture needle is used when extracting a body fluid or a cell at an observation site. Puncture needles are generally
It is attached to an adapter that is detachably attached to the probe. For example, when performing puncturing while observing a B-mode image in an apparatus including the puncture needle, one guideline indicating a puncture needle insertion direction with respect to a desired observation site is displayed on a monitor screen. Is displayed.

An operator inserts a puncture needle into a living body and moves the puncture needle according to a guideline. After the tip of the puncture needle reaches a desired observation site, extraction of a bodily fluid or the like from the observation site is performed using the puncture needle.

[0004]

In the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, at the time of puncturing, the position of the puncture needle is shifted due to play of the puncture needle mounting portion of the adapter, or the puncture needle is slightly bent in a living body. There are cases. Further, in many cases, the entire image of the puncture needle is not clearly displayed on the monitor screen, and the image of the puncture needle may be hidden by the biological image. As a result, the puncture needle may deviate from the guideline, but conventionally, since the allowable amount of this deviation is visually determined by the operator, the operation becomes complicated,
Puncture may not be easy.

It is an object of the present invention to facilitate puncturing.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising a puncture needle, a puncture site marker, and an insertion direction marker. The puncture site marker unit is a unit for designating a puncture site of a puncture needle in a living body. The insertion direction marker means is a means for designating the insertion direction of the puncture needle with respect to the puncture site by two line segments forming an angle with each other.

[0007]

In the present invention, the puncture site marker means designates the puncture site of the puncture needle in the living body. Thereby, the tip position (target portion) of the puncture needle at the time of puncture is indicated. In addition, the insertion direction marker means specifies the insertion direction of the puncture needle with respect to the puncture site by using two line segments that form an angle with each other.
That is, the range between the two line segments is the allowable range of the displacement of the puncture needle. Therefore, at the time of puncturing, the operator only has to insert the puncture needle with the puncture needle inserted between the two line segments and adjust the distal end position of the puncture needle to the puncture site, whereby the puncture can be performed. Can be easily performed.

[0008]

FIG. 1 shows an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a probe 1 transmits an ultrasonic beam into a subject and receives a reflected echo reflected inside the subject. The probe 1 is composed of a plurality of micro-vibrators. The transmitting and receiving circuit 2 is connected to the probe 1. The transmission / reception circuit 2 includes a high-frequency pulse oscillator for transmitting an ultrasonic beam, a receiver for receiving a reflected echo, a delay circuit for performing electronic scanning, a delay amount selection circuit, and the like. A display graphic generation circuit 3 is connected to the transmission / reception circuit 2. The display graphic generation circuit 3 is a circuit for processing the reflected echo received by the transmission / reception circuit 2 to obtain tomographic data of a living body. Transmission / reception circuit 2 and display figure generation circuit 3
Is controlled by the apparatus central control unit 4.

The apparatus central control unit 4 includes a CPU, a ROM, an R
A microcomputer including an AM and the like is provided. A keyboard 5 is connected to the device central control unit 4. Further, the apparatus central control unit 4 includes an introduction marker moving key 6 for moving an introduction marker described later and a tip marker movement key 7 for moving a tip marker (described later).
And each output is connected. Tip marker move key 7
Is composed of, for example, a trackball, a joystick, a mouse, a cursor switch, and the like.

This ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has a graphics generating circuit 8. The graphics generation circuit 8 is a circuit for generating an introduction marker and a tip marker at positions designated by the respective movement keys 6 and 7. The graphics generation circuit 8, as shown in FIG.
A write control circuit 9; a two-dimensional memory 10 for which write control is performed by the write control circuit 9;
And a converter 11. The graphics generation circuit 8 is similarly controlled by the apparatus central control unit 4 (FIG. 1).

A mixing circuit 12 is connected to the outputs of the display graphic generation circuit 3 and the graphics generation circuit 8. The mixing circuit 12 is for synthesizing the outputs of the display graphic generation circuit 3 and the graphics generation circuit 8. A display 13 is connected to the output of the mixing circuit 12. A puncture adapter 50 as shown in FIG. 3 is detachably attached to the probe 1.

In FIG. 3, the puncture adapter 50 has a mounting portion 35 detachable from the probe 1 and a mounting portion 40 provided on the side of the mounting portion 35 for mounting a puncture needle 60. . The mounting section 40 includes an arc-shaped protrusion 41 and a linear protrusion 42. A needle guide 45 into which the puncture needle 60 is inserted is provided on these protrusions 41 and 42. A pin 43 is inserted into one end of the needle guide 45 and the protruding portion 42 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and the needle guide 45 is rotatable around the pin 43. A plurality of holes 44 are formed on the protrusion 41 in an arc. The holes 44 are connected to each other by arc-shaped grooves. A spring (not shown) is built in a portion of the lower surface of the needle guide 45 facing the protruding portion 41, and a ball (not shown) that can be moved in and out by the spring is provided. The ball is adapted to engage in each hole 44.

Here, the introduction marker and the tip marker will be described. Now, it is assumed that a tomographic image 20 of the living body is displayed on the monitor screen as shown in FIG. 4 as shown in the figure, and the observation site (puncture site) of this tomographic image 20 is indicated by a cross. In FIG. 4, the introduction marker is indicated by 21, and the tip marker is indicated by 22. The introduction marker 21 is for indicating the insertion direction of the puncture needle with respect to the puncture site (marked by “x”), and is composed of two line segments (broken lines) that form an angle with each other. At the time of puncturing, the introduction marker moving key 6
Is operated so that the puncture site (x mark) is arranged between the line segments of the introduction marker 21. By operating the introduction marker moving key 6, the introduction marker 21 can be moved in the direction of the arrow to cover the entire tomographic image 20, as shown in FIG. When the introduction marker 21 is moved, as shown in FIG.
Can move together. The tip marker 22 is a circular graphic display, and indicates a puncture site, that is, a tip position of a puncture needle at the time of puncture. When puncturing,
By operating the above-mentioned tip marker moving key 7, the tip marker 22 is arranged at the position of the puncture site (marked by x). In addition to the circular shape, the tip marker 22 is not limited to the circular shape as shown in FIG.
, Or a figure as shown in FIG.
Various things are conceivable. Regardless of the figure, in order to clearly display the distal end portion of the puncture needle 60 on the monitor screen, it is preferable that the distal end marker 22 is formed only of the outline of the figure.

Next, of the operations of the above-described embodiment, the control operation of the graphics control circuit 8 of the apparatus central control unit 4 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, each control operation for the transmission / reception circuit 2 and the display graphic generation circuit 3 is a general operation, and the description is omitted here. In FIG. 8, in step S1, initialization such as setting each of the introduction marker 21 and the tip marker 22 to an initial position is performed. Next, in step S2, it is determined whether the introduction marker moving key 6 has been pressed. If the introduction marker moving key 6 has not been pressed, the process proceeds to step S3.
In step S3, it is determined whether or not the tip marker moving key 7 has been pressed. If not, the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, it is determined whether another key input has been made from the keyboard 5. If this determination is No, the process moves to step S5, and it is determined whether or not the end key has been pressed from the keyboard 5. If the end key has not been pressed, the program returns to step S2 and returns to steps S2 to S2.
The process of step S4 is repeated.

In step S2, if the introduction marker moving key 6 is pressed, the program shifts from step S2 to step S6. In step S6, the introduction marker 2
It is determined whether or not 1 is at the right end or left end position of the monitor screen. If it is determined that the introduction marker 21 is at the end position and cannot be moved in the designated direction, the program proceeds to step S3 without moving the introduction marker 21. If it is determined in step S6 that the introduction marker 21 is not at the end position on the designated direction side, the process proceeds to step S7. In step S7, the previous introduction marker 21 already displayed is deleted. Next, in step S8, a new introduction marker 2
1 is displayed on the monitor screen. In this case, the display of the introduction marker 21 is performed stepwise on the monitor screen, and the display position of each introduction marker 21 in this stepwise display is determined by the rotation of the puncture needle 60 (FIG. 3). Each corresponds to a moving position. After the processing in step S8, the program proceeds to step S3.

That is, while the introduction marker moving key 6 is pressed, new introduction markers 21 are displayed step by step until the introduction marker 21 reaches the end position.
The operator places the desired puncture site (cross mark) in the tomographic image 20 between the line segments of the introduction marker 21 by operating the introduction marker moving key 6. If it is determined in step S3 that the tip marker moving key 7 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S3
Move to 9. In step S9, it is determined whether or not the tip marker 22 is at the upper end position (for example, the intersection position of the introduction marker 21) or the lower end position (the tip opening position of the introduction marker 21). If it is determined that the front end marker 21 is not at the end position (or even the end is opposite to the specified direction), the program moves to step S4 without moving the front end marker 22. If it is determined in step S9 that the tip marker 22 is not at the end position in the designated direction,
Move to step S10. In step S10, the previous tip marker 22 already displayed on the monitor screen is deleted. Next, in step S11, a new tip marker 22 is displayed according to the input from the tip marker moving key 7. After the processing in step S11, the program proceeds to step S4.

That is, while the tip marker moving key 7 is pressed, as shown in FIG. 5, the tip marker 22 is moved and displayed between the line segments of the introduction marker 21 in the vertical direction until reaching the end position. It will be. The operator operates the tip marker moving key 7 to place the tip marker 22 at a desired insertion site (marked by X in FIG. 4). From this state, the operator rotates the puncture needle 60 on the mounting unit 40 to dispose the puncture needle 60 at a position corresponding to the moving position of the introduction marker 21. Then, the puncture needle 60 is inserted into the living body, and the puncture needle 60 is introduced between each line segment of the introduction marker 21 while watching the monitor screen. Then, the tip of the puncture needle 60 is
Move in. When the tip of the puncture needle 60 has moved into the tip marker 22, the puncture site (×
Extract the affected tissue from the mark).

In this case, the insertion direction of the puncture needle 60 is 2
Since it is indicated by the introduction marker 21 composed of the line segments, the operator only has to perform the insertion while placing the puncture needle 60 between these line segments. In comparison, the puncture needle 60 can be easily inserted. Moreover, since the tip position of the puncture needle 60 is indicated by the tip marker 22, puncturing can be easily performed even when a part of the puncture needle 60 is unclear on the monitor screen.

If it is determined in step S4 that another key has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S12.
In step S12, another process according to the key input is performed. If it is determined in step S5 that the end key has been pressed, the determination in step S5 is Yes, and the program ends. [Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, when the introduction marker 21 is moved, the entire introduction marker 21 is moved without changing the crossing angle of each line constituting the introduction marker 21. However, the present invention is applied to this embodiment. The present invention is not limited to this, and the angle of each line segment may be changeable.

In this case, if a step for determining which line segment is to be moved is provided before step S6 in FIG. 8, the angle of both line segments can be changed by designating one of the line segments. Can be changed.

[0021]

According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, a puncture site marker means for specifying a puncture site, and a puncture device for specifying the insertion direction of a puncture needle with two line segments forming an angle with each other. Since the entry direction marker means is provided, puncturing can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a graphics generation circuit of the device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a puncture adapter.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a monitor screen.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of the tip marker.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a control unit of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 Introductory marker move key 7 Tip marker move key 21 Introductory marker 22 Tip marker 60 Puncture needle

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 8/00-8/15 A61B 17/34

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided with a puncture needle, wherein a puncture site marker means for designating a puncture site, and two lines each forming an angle in which an insertion direction of the puncture needle with respect to the puncture site is angled with each other. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an insertion direction marker means for specifying in minutes.